Local television broadcast TEGNA is launching new, two-hour newscasts on nearly three dozen local TV stations this month.
The newscasts will run from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. each weekday, during the same time slot as network-owned shows like “Today” on NBC and “Good Morning America” on ABC.
With the broadcast signals occupied by network news, TEGNA will distribute its live local newscasts on its streaming apps and websites. TEGNA will also offer the live newscasts on third party platforms like Local Now and Fox-owned Tubi where its news streams are available.
Three TEGNA-owned NBC affiliates — KGW (Channel 8) in Portland, WCNC (Channel 36) in Charlotte and WKYC (Channel 3) in Cleveland — began offering the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. newscasts earlier this year as part of a test run.
Stations in 35 markets will launch the local newscasts this month; the expanded offering will make its way to more than 50 local TV markets by the fall, according to TEGNA executives.
“Local news drives daily decisions,” said Adrienne Roark, TEGNA’s Chief Content Officer, who joined the company from Paramount Global’s CBS earlier this year. “With the debut of our new programming, our audiences will now have the option to watch live news produced by their trusted stations during a time of day when local coverage has been largely unavailable. In addition to serving our viewers, it will also create new opportunities for our advertisers to reach audiences regardless of where they are and how they consume our content.”
Roark continued: “This content expansion reinforces our companywide commitment to local news and we’re confident that it will further strengthen our newsrooms, enhance the viewer experience, support our communities and deliver value to all stakeholders.”
TEGNA did not name the specific stations where its new morning newscasts will be offered, but a source familiar with the company’s plans said all news-producing stations are to offer 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. live news streams by the end of the year.
